Daniel High
School is home to hundreds of young adults. They come to school everyday and
wish to be educated by the best teachers and be in a surrounding that is ready
for learning. One out of the two was actually implemented. The surroundings
at Daniel High School are below standards. The front entrance is run down,
the grass is torn up, the doorways are clogged with energetic students, and
there is no were to relax while wait for your ride home. This is just the
beginning; the actual plants at the school are in very bad condition, and
the placement is so sporadic that the school itself has no inviting aspect
to it. These are the some of the reasons that I chose to redesign the front
of the building. I believe, in order to get a well-rounded education that
not only do you need good teachers, but the students need to be in a setting
that is ready for learning.
In my design I implemented many inviting plants in the courtyard right in
the front of the building. I visualize many flowering plants like Azaleas,
Glossy Abelias, Yoshino Cherry Trees, and Eastern Redbuds to enclose a thick
grassy area for student to hang out after school. The entrance of the building
will be widened for a sitting wall to be implemented and let the flow of traffic
in and out of the building be reduced. Students will be able to sit to the
side of the doors, watching their classmates enter and exit as they are enlightened
by the arbor overhead. I also saw a chance to hide the large satellite dishes
to the left of the entrance by planting beautiful Southern Magnolias, Paperbark
Maples, and Willow Oaks. At the same time they will be use to shade the new
parking that will be placed where the gravel parking now exists, and supplying
the school with fourteen new spaces.
These are the major changes that I found necessary for the school to become
a better learning environment. One thing that my design represents is a sustainable
landscape. By not changing the hardscape of the site, the drainage of the
building will not be worsened. Hardscaping causes the runoff to increase 100%
at any site, and since I utilized only what is there the site becomes sustainable.
I improved the sustainability of the site by using plant that are native to
the state of South Carolina. Not only does this promote sustainability, but
it helps because I am supplying more plants that are already there, therefore
helping erosion and drainage problems.
As you can see my design can only help the problems that Daniel High School
faces and promote education through beautification, circulation, and sustainability.
